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Tithe and agrarian output between the Tyne and Tees, 1350- 1450

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to establish a series of agrarian output indicators, based on tithe receipts, for the period 1350 to 1450 and to interpret this series in the light of current thinking on the medieval economy. Tithe receipts recorded in the accounts of Durham Priory were used for the series. After a broad discussion of the concept of tithe, covering Its origins, significance and historiography, the institution of tithe is examined at the parish and monastic levels. There follows a detailed discussion of the method used to convert the tithe receipts into indicators of agrarian output: this represents a development of methods used by French historians in the 1960s and 1970s. The final two chapters examine the significance of these indicators for our understanding of the economy of the late middle ages. Agrarian output in the parishes between the Tyne and Tees proves to have been comparable to developments on demesne land elsewhere in England. Some significant differences are also observed and discussed.